CoinDesk
The Senate Banking Committee convened its first markup hearing on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act on Thursday, putting the long-awaited market-structure bill through 24-Senator debate over dozens of amendments to text released past midnight Tuesday morning. The committee's vote on whether to advance the bill is the first of several procedural hurdles before the legislation can reach the president's desk.
A bipartisan compromise on stablecoin yield, negotiated by Senators Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) and circulated at the start of the month, cleared the way for Thursday's session to go forward. Outstanding is whether the bill will carry an ethics provision barring senior government officials from holding business ties to the crypto industry — a debate driven in part by President Donald Trump and his family's holdings in World Liberty Financial and other crypto ventures. A CoinDesk-commissioned survey found 73% of Americans oppose such ties among senior officials broadly.
Why it matters
The Clarity Act is the structural counterpart to last year's stablecoin framework: it defines SEC vs. CFTC jurisdiction over digital assets, sets registration pathways for trading venues, and locks in how non-stablecoin tokens are classified. Its path from committee to law is unusually long — a successful Banking Committee vote would still require merger with the Senate Agriculture Committee's parallel version, a Senate floor vote, reconciliation with the House's market-structure bill (CLARITY Act / FIT21-era text), and a House vote. The stablecoin yield compromise is the breakthrough that unlocks the process; the ethics rider is the unresolved variable that could derail it.
Market impact
The banking lobby has not stood down. State bank associations have filed formal letters and individual bankers have sent roughly 8,000 letters to Senators arguing the yield provisions remain tilted toward the crypto industry, signaling that the compromise will be re-litigated at every subsequent step — Senate floor, House conference, and any final-rule implementation by the OCC and Fed.
Frequently asked questions
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What is the Clarity Act?
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act is the long-awaited US market-structure bill that defines SEC vs. CFTC jurisdiction over digital assets, sets registration pathways for trading venues, and clarifies how non-stablecoin tokens are classified.
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Why did the Senate Banking markup hearing happen now?
The hearing opened after Senators Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) negotiated a compromise on stablecoin yield and circulated the text at the start of the month, clearing the final procedural obstacle to advancing the bill.
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What is the ethics provision in the Clarity Act about?
The provision would bar senior government officials from holding business ties to the crypto industry. Its inclusion is being driven in part by President Donald Trump and his family's holdings in World Liberty Financial and other crypto ventures.
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What percentage of Americans support the ethics provision?
A CoinDesk-commissioned survey found 73% of Americans believe senior government officials should not have business ties to the crypto industry.
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What happens after the Banking Committee votes?
If the committee advances the bill, it must be merged with the Senate Agriculture Committee's parallel version, voted on by the full Senate, reconciled with the House of Representatives' market-structure bill, and passed by the House before going to the president's desk.
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